Russian satellite for testing ‘nuclear weapons in space’ goes out of control – Reuters

American experts have recorded a malfunction in a secret Russian satellite.

The secret Russian satellite “Kosmos-2553”, which, according to American officials, is connected to the program to create nuclear anti-satellite weapons, apparently began to rotate uncontrollably, which may indicate its failure.

This could be a setback for Russia’s space weapons efforts, writes Reuters .

The satellite, launched by Russia just weeks before a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has shown signs of incorrect rotation several times over the past year, according to data from Doppler radar from LeoLabs and optical observations from Slingshot Aerospace.

“This observation indicates with a high probability that the satellite is no longer operational,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in its annual report on space threats.

What else is known about this satellite?

Kosmos-2553 is believed to be a radar satellite for Russian intelligence and a platform for radiation testing. Last year, it became the target of US accusations that Russia has been developing nuclear weapons for years that could destroy entire satellite networks, such as SpaceX’s massive Starlink internet system.

According to US officials, the Kosmos-2553 satellite is not a weapon in itself, but is intended to facilitate the development of nuclear anti-satellite weapons. Although Russia, for its part, denies creating such weapons and claims that the satellite is used for research purposes.

Kosmos-2553 is in a relatively isolated orbit about 2,000 km above Earth, in an area with high levels of cosmic radiation that is typically avoided by communications and Earth observation satellites.

(C)UNIAN 2025